Empathy as Pathmaking: Transforming Rigor in Higher Education

In a recent conversation with a student struggling academically after personal challenges, I reinforced the importance of empathy in education. As we navigated deadlines and expectations, he remarked, “Your empathy is palpable. In this space, that is rare—and I am grateful.” This exchange prompted me to reflect on the role educators play. I stated, “I didn’t become an educator to be a gatekeeper; I became an educator to be a waymaker.”

The traditional gatekeeping narrative in higher education often casts educators as enforcers of standards and controllers of academic rigor. While this perspective is sometimes positioned as necessary for maintaining quality, it frequently turns into a detrimental form of distance and ambiguity, ultimately sidelining students’ needs.

Rethinking Gatekeeping in Education

Research indicates that student retention is significantly influenced by their sense of belonging. Vincent Tinto's work highlights that continuous engagement is linked to how integrated students feel socially and academically within their institutions. If students perceive themselves as outsiders, their likelihood of withdrawing increases markedly.

Studies by Gregory Walton and Geoffrey Cohen around belonging uncertainty further reveal that students from marginalized backgrounds often view typical academic struggles as evidence of their lack of belonging. Subtle cues from instructors—such as tone and clarity in communication—play significant roles in either exacerbating or alleviating these feelings.

Rigid gatekeeping tends to amplify these uncertainties, while adopting a waymaking mindset can clarify the path forward without compromising standards.

Waymaking: Upholding Standards with Compassion

Becoming a waymaker does not imply lowering academic expectations or inflating grades; instead, it champions transparency and accessibility. By articulating the purpose and expectations of assignments clearly, faculty can enhance student performance, particularly among first-generation and historically underserved groups, as highlighted by research from Mary-Ann Winkelmes. In other words, clarity doesn’t dilute rigor—it democratizes it.

John Hattie’s analysis of effective feedback underscores that timely and specific guidance is among the most critical factors for student improvement. The goal should be to reveal, rather than conceal, pathways to meet academic standards. Waymaking involves several key questions:

• Have I clearly communicated the criteria for high-quality work?
• Have I modeled the necessary thinking processes?
• Have I provided practice opportunities prior to high-stakes assessments?
• Have I distinguished cognitive rigor from unnecessary rigidity?
• Have I created diverse pathways for achieving success?

Steps Towards a Waymaking Approach

Transitioning from gatekeeping to waymaking doesn’t require a complete overhaul of one’s teaching practices. It can begin with manageable, deliberate adjustments.

1. Clarifying Expectations

Illustrate your thought process through narration and exemplars. Providing transparent assessment criteria, like rubrics, helps demystify what is often hidden knowledge that experienced educators take for granted.

2. Embracing a Growth Mindset

Employ language that emphasizes potential and development. Drawing on Carol Dweck’s research, when feedback centers on growth instead of deficiency, students are more inclined to engage in revision and improvement.

3. Balancing Structure with Flexibility

Implement clear policies while allowing room for discretion. This demonstrates both commitment to standards and empathy for student circumstances. Making nuanced judgments doesn’t undermine expectations; rather, it cultivates a more thoughtful approach to teaching.

4. Fostering Early Success

When students achieve low-stakes successes early on—as per Albert Bandura’s principles of self-efficacy—they build confidence that paves the way for tackling more challenging material later in the course.

These strategies not only affirm academic rigor but also create a supportive environment fostering belonging, persistence, and deeper engagement.

Revisiting the Concept of Rigor

There's a pervasive misconception that compassion in education diminishes standards. In truth, clarity in expectations frees students from confusion, enabling them to invest their cognitive resources in deeper learning experiences. When feedback feels punitive or policies rigid and opaque, it often leads to defensive behaviors rather than constructive engagement.

Waymaking helps reduce unnecessary barriers, allowing students to focus their intellectual efforts where they matter most: on analysis, synthesis, and application. Rigor should be framed as an ongoing cognitive challenge expertly supported by clear, structured guidance that nurtures depth of thought while removing extraneous hurdles.

Empathy as a Professional Mandate

Some may view empathy in education merely as a character trait, but it should instead be regarded as a holistic professional responsibility. While displaying empathy doesn’t mean conceding every request or forgoing necessary consequences, it does involve understanding students' perspectives. By evaluating what they can realistically grasp based on their prior experiences, we can refine our teaching methods to either broaden or limit their paths to success.

Instructors often contend with significant pressures, such as large class sizes and institutional constraints. The allure of gatekeeping efficiency can overshadow the more meaningful aspects of teaching. However, true effectiveness in fostering real learning and intellectual growth rests on the idea of developing students’ capabilities, rather than merely categorizing them as able or incapable.

When the aforementioned student left our meeting, he didn’t just depart with a list of requirements but with enhanced clarity, dignity, and a belief that a feasible path awaited him. While we can’t eliminate all challenges students may face, within the educational landscape we can choose to either act as gatekeepers or as waymakers—walking alongside students as they navigate their journeys.

Crystal Donlan, MEd, DEd, serves as the Associate Director of Digital Pedagogy & Scholarship at Bucknell University and is also a long-time adjunct professor. She focuses on distance learning, modern literacies, and human-centered approaches to education.

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.

Tinto, V. (2012). Completing college: Rethinking institutional action. University of Chicago Press.

Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2011). A brief social-belonging intervention improves academic and health outcomes. Science, 331(6023), 1447–1451.

Winkelmes, M.-A. et al. (2016). A teaching intervention that increases underserved college students’ success. Peer Review, 18(1/2).